1 00:00:00,450 --> 00:00:06,710 Is there such a thing as "the worst sin" -- one sin that is worse than all others? 2 00:00:06,710 --> 00:00:13,440 Well, there is. I am well aware that some people differ. They maintain that we can't declare any sin 3 00:00:13,450 --> 00:00:18,890 worse than any other. "To God, a sin is a sin," is how it's often expressed. 4 00:00:18,890 --> 00:00:24,500 In this view, a person who steals a stapler from the office is committing as grievous a sin in 5 00:00:24,500 --> 00:00:31,920 God's eyes as a murderer. But most people intuitively, as well as biblically, understand 6 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:38,130 that some sins are clearly worse than others. We are confident that God has at least as 7 00:00:38,130 --> 00:00:45,130 much common sense as we do. The God of Judaism and Christianity does not equate stealing 8 00:00:45,130 --> 00:00:48,480 an office item with murder. 9 00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:57,200 So, then, what is the worst sin? The worst sin is committing evil in God's name. 10 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:04,220 How do we know? From the Third Commandment of the Ten Commandments. This is the only one 11 00:01:04,220 --> 00:01:11,060 of the Ten Commandments that states that God will not forgive a person who violates the commandment. 12 00:01:11,060 --> 00:01:15,340 What does this Commandment say? It is most commonly translated as, 13 00:01:15,340 --> 00:01:20,680 "Do not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. For the Lord will not hold guiltless" -- meaning 14 00:01:20,689 --> 00:01:24,629 "will not forgive" -- whoever takes His name in vain." 15 00:01:24,629 --> 00:01:29,179 Most people understandably think that the commandment forbids saying God's name for 16 00:01:29,179 --> 00:01:34,959 no good reason. So, something like, "God, did I have a rough day at work today!" violates 17 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:40,679 the Third Commandment. But that interpretation presents a real problem. It would mean that 18 00:01:40,679 --> 00:01:46,090 whereas God could forgive the violation of any of the other commandments -- dishonoring 19 00:01:46,090 --> 00:01:51,569 one's parents, stealing, adultery, or even committing murder -- He would never forgive 20 00:01:51,569 --> 00:01:56,969 someone who said, "God, did I have a rough day at work today!" Let's be honest: 21 00:01:56,969 --> 00:02:02,400 That would render God and the Ten Commandments morally incomprehensible. 22 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:08,280 Well, as it happens, the commandment is not the problem. The problem is the translation. 23 00:02:08,319 --> 00:02:16,819 The Hebrew original doesn't say "Do not take;" it says "Do not carry." 24 00:02:16,820 --> 00:02:24,540 The Hebrew literally reads, "Do not carry the name of the Lord thy God in vain." One of the most widely used 25 00:02:24,549 --> 00:02:31,170 new translations of the Bible, the New International Version, or NIV, uses the word "misuse" rather 26 00:02:31,170 --> 00:02:36,270 than the word "take:" "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God." 27 00:02:36,270 --> 00:02:40,090 This is much closer to the original's intent. 28 00:02:40,090 --> 00:02:47,140 What does it mean to "carry" or to "misuse" God's name? It means committing evil in God's name. 29 00:02:47,140 --> 00:02:52,480 And that God will not forgive. 30 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:56,300 Why not? When an irreligious person commits evil, 31 00:02:56,300 --> 00:03:02,280 it doesn't bring God and religion into disrepute. But when religious people commit evil, 32 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:07,160 especially in God's name, they are not only committing evil, 33 00:03:07,170 --> 00:03:10,820 they are doing terrible damage to thename of God. 34 00:03:10,820 --> 00:03:17,100 In our time, there is an example of this. The evils committed by Islamists who torture, 35 00:03:17,100 --> 00:03:23,600 bomb, cut throats, and mass murder -- all in the name of God -- do terrible damage to 36 00:03:23,609 --> 00:03:30,689 the name of God. It is not coincidental that what is called the New Atheism -- the immense 37 00:03:30,689 --> 00:03:38,860 eruption of atheist activism -- followed the 9-11 attacks on America by Islamist terrorists. 38 00:03:38,860 --> 00:03:43,920 In fact, the most frequent argument against God and religion concerns evil committed in 39 00:03:43,930 --> 00:03:47,730 God's name -- whether it is done in the name of Allah today 40 00:03:47,730 --> 00:03:50,690 or was done in the past in the name of Christ. 41 00:03:50,690 --> 00:03:58,430 People who murder in the name of God not only kill their victims, they kill God, too. 42 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:06,140 That's why the greatest sin is religious evil. That's what the Third Commandment is there to teach: 43 00:04:06,140 --> 00:04:11,760 Don't carry God's name in vain. If you do, God won't forgive you. 44 00:04:11,769 --> 00:04:13,009 I'm Dennis Prager.